Twenty-nine puppies trafficked to the UK to be sold as Christmas presents have been seized at Belfast Port in a crackdown on the illegal practice. They were seized in the early hours of Thursday (December 15) after discrepancies were found in paperwork. They are now in the process of being rehomed.
The crackdown was the latest in a series of seizures at Northern Ireland’s ports and was part of the Paws for Thought initiative, where dogs and puppies going through the ports are subject to welfare and transport checks. Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said discrepancies in paperwork provided by the transporter alerted staff, working in partnership with Belfast Harbour Police and Belfast City Council. A DAERA spokesperson said it had a zero tolerance policy for dog trafficking, reports Belfast Live.
“At this time of year, the demand for a Christmas puppy is high, which fuels the trafficking of low welfare pups through our ports to sell them at an inflated price in Great Britain,” they said. “Innocent animal lovers are often duped into believing these pups have come from a reputable breeder.
